Mammoth Super Heavy Tank
=Background Info= Development Following the end of the Great Northern War and the formation of the Northern Federation, the newly formed government greatly feared a major revolt from many of the Communists still left in the region. Several smaller Communist cells had already tried to stage revolts and while they were easily shut down, the government was vastly unprepared for a revolt on a large scale. Knowing they could not actively search for these cells in the newly formed nation should they risk the people turning against their government, the higher up government officials decided that rather than actively hunting down these cells, they would peacefully "scare" them against revolting by showing them the might of the government. While it was agreed that scare tactics were the best way to discourage revolutions, there were many differing opinions on how to do it, and a lot of time was spent debating how to best go about it. However, with the success of the prototypes for the Thunderer and orders already being placed for the new battle tank, several government officials got the idea for a massive tank that would intimidate any who saw it and discourage any kind of action against the government. The Mammoth Super Heavy Tank was the result. With designs immediately flowing in for a massive battle tank that would intimidate anyone who saw it and several concepts hitting the test range, the Mammoth would be the design that came out on top. With its two heavy rail cannons coming head and shoulder above any of the main cannons of the other designs, and a massive tank chassis that itself was armed to the teeth with support weapons, production immediately began on what would become the NSHT-43 Mammoth Super Heavy Tank. Initially, only 20 of these super heavy tanks would be placed due to a lack of resources. Since the tank used fleet-grade armour plating on every inch of it, the tank was expensive and hard to produce, as the Star Metal was prioritized to the Navy for use on their interstellar craft. This, however, was not seen as a flaw as the tank was meant to be used more for intimidation than anything, as war was far from the minds of the people after the Great Northern War. Development would be ongoing for two years. The first Mammoth rolled off the lines in early 59 AF, with the other nineteen following it soon after. The first Mammoth became nicknamed "Ivan", and was shown off at a parade on Stalingrad during Unification Day, the day that celebrated the end of the Great Northern War and the unification of the Northern Rim. The massive tank was a sight to behold, and if any Communist plot was planned to occur during the parade, it never transpired. While there is no way of knowing whether or not Ivan had anything to do with it, upon it being seen across Federate space, the reports of Communist activity dropped significantly, leading the government to assume that their intimidation tactics had worked. It wouldn't be until the outbreak of the Xeno-Federation War that the order would be placed for more Mammoths past the twenty that were originally manufactured. When the Golek initially invaded the Northern Federation, the twenthy Mammoth tanks, each held in a different military base, were deployed as a last ditch effort. No one in the military could have predicted that what was originally designed as a showpiece meant to intimidate enemy forces turned out to be one of the deadliest pieces of machinery ever created. The twenty bases in which these machines were housed single-handedly held the Golek forces at bay for extended periods of time, allowing the Federate military to extract their forces out of the area before the Golek could overrun them. Orders were immediately sent in and the blueprints dusted off for the mighty machines, and soon hundreds more Mammoths would enter into the active military. To this day, the first Mammoth Super Heavy Tank ever created, known across the military as "Ivan", still rolls into the fields of battle, it's hull having never been punctured and its many crews over the years having never been killed in action. In addition to Ivan, eleven other of the original twenty Mammoths still roll into battle, providing their heavy firepower to the front lines, each one with its own set of dents and scrapes, and each one with a service record far longer than any man's will ever be. They are relic machines that have stood the test of time, and will continue to do so for many years to come. The Mammoth Super Heavy Tank has become an almost religious symbol to the Northern Federation military, as whenever one rolls on to the front lines, the soldiers on the ground from every branch revere it, and morale instantly gets boosted as soon as they know they have a Mammoth on their side. Their heavy firepower, combined with their incredible resilience plays a huge part in the military's faith in these incredible machines, and their impressive service records back up the almost holy praise they are given. The Mammoth has solidified itself in the history books, both as an incredible piece of military history as well as one of the most impressive feats of mechanical engineering in human history. Role With incredibly thick armour and an array of weapons for every situation, there are not very many situations where the Mammoth won't excel. It has the fire-support itself against all threats on the battlefield barring aerial battleships, and even then the Mammoth is expected to survive against this short of threat. The Mammoth is typically deployed during incredibly important, must-win engagements. Its presence alone is enough to make even the most battle-weary soldiers fight their hardest, and that is an unspoken weapon in and of itself. Mammoths, however, are only deployed when absolutely necessary, as even though they have yet to face an enemy that can consistently crack the armour of the machines, the parts the machine carry are incredibly expensive, and the military cannot afford to replace them regularly should they lose one. Weaponry Armed with more heavy firepower than the typical infantry platoon, the Mammoth Super Heavy Tank is armed to the teeth with weapons that can deal with any combat situation. It's pair of heavy flamethrowers and machine guns make it devastating to enemy infantry at any range and regardless of armour, while its twin anti-air missile pods mounted on the turret can take down light aircraft with ease. However, the Mammoth's headline act is its two Heavy Rail Cannons, which can pierce the heaviest armour a ground vehicle can deploy and are incredibly accurate from a very long range, and are among the deadliest weapons the Northern Federation military has at their command. Speed and Defenses With a whopping top-speed of 30km/h, the Mammoth is far from the fastest vehicle on the battlefield, and while it can drive through or over any obstacle that comes in its way, there is no denying that the Mammoth is the tortoise rather than the hare. However, the Mammoth's speed, or lack of it, has never been a problem, as it has enough armour to shrug off even the heaviest of enemy ground weapons. Armoured with 1.5 meters of armour designed for use on battleships on almost all sections, very few weapons have ever cracked the lumbering behemoth's shell, and none have ever done it consistently. What few weapons have cracked the armour have done so on a lucky shot, making the Mammoth's armour the most protected vehicles in the ground forces of the Northern Federation military, and is rated at the very top of the NEDA's Military forces in terms of protection only rivaled by less efficient Super Heavy HMVs that are often three times the size of the Mammoth itself with generally worse armour protection. Service and Repair With Star Metal armour plating, a wide array of weapons systems, as well as a massive body size, the Mammoth is probably the hardest land vehicle to repair and service. Star Metal is prioritized to the Navy and their vessels, making it very difficult to obtain replacement armour plates for the Mammoth, while it's heavy Rail Cannons are incredibly expensive and hard to maintain. Servicing the vehicle's vitals, however, can also be difficult. Given its weight and size, parts must be regularly inspected and even replaced over short-periods of time should the Mammoth be forced on long road marches and accessing these parts can be difficult given the tank's giant size. More often than not, a Peregrine will carry a Mammoth to its destination to reduce the wear-and-tear on both the suspension and engines. Category:Vehicles